There’s no easy way to say this: Our long-term Nissan Titan XD Diesel was one of the most disappointing new vehicles we have evaluated in recent memory, a distinction highlighted by our truck’s serious mechanical issues and grounded in its general inability to endear when it was healthy.

Spearheading Nissan’s then new second-generation Titan lineup for 2016, the XD leverages a near-heavy-duty build and an available Cummins turbo-diesel V-8 to serve a niche somewhere between established half-ton and three-quarter-ton pickups. While lesser, gasoline-fueled Titans have since joined the mix, the diesel XD is a brutish curiosity that, in theory, is ideal for the commuting and moderate workloads we ask of the trucks in our fleet. But therein lies this middling heavyweight’s paradox: For how massive and unwieldy this Titan XD is on the road, its payload and towing maximums of 2003 and 12,037 pounds, respectively, are eclipsed by those of some light-duty trucks.

While the XD’s ride is undeniably stiff when empty, its control-arm front suspension and leaf-spring solid rear axle offer a bit more compliance than a full-HD pickup’s. For the crew-cab-only 2016 model, we settled on the midrange Pro-4X trim with standard four-wheel drive and a six-foot, six-inch cargo box for a fair $52,165. (Subtract $5000 for the XD’s livelier 390-hp gas V-8 that Nissan added later in 2016.) Along with bountiful standard equipment—bright LED headlights, a towing package, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert—the off-road-oriented Pro-4X brings a locking rear differential, Bilstein dampers, 18-inch wheels with all-terrain tires, and a bevy of underbody skid plates. The Titan’s nonfunctional fender vents and grossly overhung snout are offered at no additional charge.

Adding the $3310 Pro-4X Convenience package (heaters for the steering wheel and four of the five seats plus leather hides all around) along with the $1100 Pro-4X Utility and Audio package (a Rockford Fosgate stereo, front and rear parking sensors, and a host of tie-downs in the cargo bed) was a sounder decision than our trim-level choice. Our Pro-4X’s lack of any assist steps for an as-tested $57,155 truck (Nissan offers cab and box steps separately as accessories) riled its detractors. And at more than 20 feet long and weighing 7280 pounds, the XD is simply too hulking to effectively tackle off-road terrain.

“Lacks the power of current HD rigs from major players but is more stable and easier to drive when towing than half-ton offerings from the same.”—Josh Jacquot, Reviews Editor

Despite the modest 310 horsepower from the Cummins turbocharged 5.0-liter V-8, the diesel’s 555 pound-feet of torque pulls the Titan through traffic with determination. Early logbook comments noted the stability with which the Titan tugged about three tons of trailer and jalopy, albeit without much haste. Some niggles cropped up, too, including concerns about a numb and heavy helm that continued to groan at low speeds even after we discovered the power-steering system’s fluid was low and topped it off. A recalcitrant tailgate-release handle also plagued the Titan for much of its term, despite the dealer replacing a faulty electronic lock actuator at no charge.

The diesel XD was lethargic at the test track, plodding to 60 mph in 9.4 seconds after its 6000-mile break-in period and covering the quarter-mile in 17.3 seconds at 82 mph. Those times improved somewhat, to 8.9 and 17.0 seconds, once the XD had loosened up at 40,000 miles, as did its stopping distance from 70 mph (204 feet down to 197) and meager grip around the skidpad (0.66 g versus 0.71). But other diesel rigs from Ford, General Motors, and Ram churn out more than 900 pound-feet of torque, with some examples able to bolt to 60 mph in less than 7.0 seconds. The Cummins V-8 also sounds less refined in operation than its 32-valve dual-overhead-cam layout would suggest; the wavering growl that accompanied the 5.0’s clatter prompted technical director Eric Tingwall to scribble “Chewbacca is my co-pilot” in the Titan’s logbook.

The Wookiee under the hood also had a voracious thirst for diesel exhaust fluid—a urea-based solution injected into the XD’s exhaust system to limit nitrogen-oxide emissions. With our truck’s laborious duty cycle (DEF consumption is relative to engine load) and the XD’s small, 4.5-gallon DEF tank, the 44 gallons we fed the Nissan over 40,000 miles, at roughly $6 per, came in many small doses. The DEF monitor in the Titan’s info display also occasionally asked for refills when the tank was nearly full and flashed service alerts that quickly disappeared.

Other logbook entries expressed wonderment at Nissan’s approval of the XD’s uncouth Aisin six-speed automatic. Even after two computer reflashes under warranty, the Titan’s transmission lurched through its ratios under acceleration and, with equal abruptness, clunked into gear at slower speeds. “It’s hard to believe someone could sign off on this transmission calibration,” noted assistant technical editor David Beard.

Virtually every driver agreed that the Pro-4X’s cosseting Zero Gravity front seats were its best attribute, with the crew-cab interior itself stocked with amenities and storage options for long voyages and a range of work. But the cabin’s vibrations, chintzy materials, and outdated 7.0-inch touchscreen that washed out in sunlight never impressed its occupants. Deputy online editor Dave VanderWerp summed it up well: “This new Titan feels a generation or more behind full-size pickups from the Detroit Three.”

Despite its many faults, our Nissan racked up miles hauling furniture and yard debris, towing off-road toys around Michigan, and fetching cars from both coasts. While the thousands of miles our truck covered with a trailer lowered the fuel-economy average to 15 mpg overall, the unladen Titan returned 18 mpg on our 200-mile highway loop. (As a heavy-duty truck, the XD is exempt from EPA fuel-economy estimates.)

Basic maintenance for the diesel Titan was substantial. Nissan’s service schedule calls for regular checkups every 10,000 miles unless the oil-life monitor in the cluster asks for it sooner, as our hardworking truck’s did. We spent $1634 on four routine stops, plus a fifth and final $298 visit for new brake and transmission fluids that should have been changed by two separate dealers as part of the Nissan’s 20K- and 40K-mile jobs.

The XD’s logbook reached peak negativity when the Cummins engine started acting up around 27,000 miles, ultimately stranding us several times. While en route from Ann Arbor to Santa Barbara, California, to retrieve C/D’s flame-painted Mitsubishi Eclipse “GT-R”, the XD limped into an Iowa dealership down on power and illuminating a check-engine light for low coolant levels. The service desk, determining nothing serious was amiss, replaced the coolant and erased the codes before clearing us to carry on in the now seemingly healthy truck.

It was 2400 miles later, on the return trip in the California desert with the Mitsu in tow, that the same check-engine alert reappeared, which we confirmed with an OBD II scanner purchased from an auto parts store (the closest Nissan shop was 60 miles away). With the last dealership experience proving uneventful, we felt reasonable in repeating the previous fix until the issue could be further investigated back home. In hindsight, given the now chronic coolant loss, we would have been wiser to seek a second opinion from another Nissan store.

Our optimism ended in Nebraska when the truck’s problems went into overdrive, the Titan consuming more coolant before limping into another dealership with white smoke spewing from its tailpipe. A kaleidoscope of check-engine warnings pointed to a leaking exhaust-gas-recirculation cooler, which is a heat exchanger that uses engine coolant to reduce the temperature of exhaust that is routed back into the combustion chambers to curb NOx emissions. A fuel injector in our truck’s engine had also failed—a separate, known problem with the Cummins V-8 engine—which the dealer replaced under warranty along with the Titan’s full exhaust system. The service techs also pressure-tested the Cummins’s cooling system and EGR heat exchanger but curiously found no evidence of leaks.

We retrieved the truck from Nebraska a week later, returned home, and then dispatched it to Virginia International Raceway in support of our annual Lightning Lap event. The Titan made it to VIR, but the 5.0 began to run rough while at the track, and more engine repairs and inspections parked the XD at various Nissan outlets in Virginia, Ohio, and Ann Arbor. The truck’s troubled running finally subsided when a new EGR cooler was installed under warranty at 36,000 miles—the sixth pit stop related to the original problem. While Nissan says that construction of the EGR cooler was beefed up on diesel XDs built after September 2016, we have since read of other EGR-related issues from Titan owners on the internet.

Although the malfunction of its Cummins engine and the subsequent trouble it took for Nissan’s service network to correct it were enough to earn our long-termer an F on its report card, that problem was merely the final straw for drivers already frustrated with the Titan’s many day-to-day issues. As an extra-large tweener that can disappoint even on its good days, Nissan’s big rig left us unconvinced that its quasi-heavy-duty niche is really in need of filling.

Rants & Raves

“It is just too big for its own good and really shows Nissan’s inexperience with this class of vehicle.” —Joseph Capparella

“Just over 8300 miles on the odometer and the power-steering pump feels as if it’s failing.” —Drew Dorian

“This truck is just shockingly bad. Previously, I had only been in the Titan with a trailer attached. Sadly, it drives like it’s towing even when it’s not.” —Jeff Sabatini

“Over the last two days, I’ve spent 30-plus hours driving the Titan and have found the seats to be quite comfortable.” —Maxwell Mortimer

“Never have I jumped into a vehicle this new and been this unsure of its capabilities to make it home issue-free.” —Nathan Petroelje

“This truck feels as if it’s already falling apart—lots of rattles and vibrations from the interior and we’re not even at 10K miles yet!” —Joseph Capparella

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